When You Were Here, and I Was Not
by grumpybubbletea
Summary: Mechanica-centric story about Mechanica learning about a deceased family member. A little angsty, but has a sweet ending.


p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The clock on the wall strikes 1 A.M. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"A young girl is seated on her bedroom floor. She has fair skin, and short but thick brown hair, with bangs, and a floof sticking up. Usually, her hair was worn in two child-like pigtails, but today, it was all left out. She preferred to leave her hair down when she was resting in the comfort of her home. Her purple eyes were fixed on the bits of machinery and wiring that she was handling on her yellow, robotic mech suit. Dressed in a slightly oversized grey sweatshirt, and pajama shorts, as well as white slippers on her feet, Veronica Keiko Abe focused on upgrading the machine that allowed her to participate in ARMS fights. Unfortunately, over the last few weeks of training, it'd taken quite a few hits, and recovery was necessary to keep her suit from falling apart on the battlefield. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She sat with her legs in the criss-cross applesauce position, much like that of a kindergardener as she fixed up the damages on her suit and attempted to sustain and improve its durability. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and her tongue stuck out slightly as she concentrated. After a few more minutes, she let out a relieved sigh. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... All done." She spoke to herself. Then, she began to put her tools away, into the toolbox. She didn't normally work on her suit at home. In fact, she typically did it at the scrapyard, where she had more space and more tools and materials, but right now her room was the only place available and these upgrades needed to be done as soon as possible. As she cleaned up, she yawned to herself, and looked up at the clock. Mechanica sighed. It was now 1:10. Part of her was annoyed at the lack of sleep she would receive, but the rest of her was apathetic./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She'd done worse. Just last week, she had pulled an all-nighter. This was nothing. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Mecanica stretched her arms up to the sky as she yawned again, and then rubbed her eyes. Instead of going straight to bed, she began heading into the kitchen. The hallways of her home were empty, and dark, almost scary-like. The only sound that filled them was the shuffling of her slippers and the creaking of the wooden floor boards beneath her feet. Had she been anymore awake and alert, these sounds, and the lack of light, and other people, would've made her uncomfortable and on-guard, but she was far too sleep-deprived to be alert. She opened a wooden cabinet by its metal knob and retrieved an empty, transparent glass of water. Then, she made her way to the sink and turned it on. As the cup was moved under the faucet, water quickly began to fill it. As it was filling up, Veronica's gaze fell to the window just above the sink. It was covered by blinds, but she could see under the small cracks in them, peering out into the darkness of the night. Bright stars lit the sky like lanterns or beacons in a dark forest, and the lack of other people was both relaxing and unsettling./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She looked back down at her glass and removed the cup once it was half-full. Mechanica shut off the faucet. She backed away from the sink and silently took a sip of her freshly poured tap water, then relaxed at the hydrating feeling of water entering her tired and water-deprived body. She hadn't eaten or drunken anything in quite some time. One of these days, she truly owed it to herself to properly take care of herself. Until then, she figured, she'd keep doing this. Mechanica turned to the door and began to leave. She exited the kitchen through the door-less doorway, and entered the living room. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Now, she was met with many things. First, there was the light blue couch, large enough to fit 3 or 4 people. In front of it was a light brown coffee table, made of wood, which sat in the middle of the couch and the television. Beneath all the aforementioned items was a white rug. The television was a flat screen, seated atop a TV stand, whose drawers were home to Mechanica's gaming consoles, controllers, and games that came with them. The remote to the television was resting on the coffee table. On the ceiling was the light to the room, which doubled as a fan that came in use when the hot summer months hit the household and caused Mechanica and her father great discomfort./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It was easy to deal with the cold. All you had to do was put on a blanket, or more clothes./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"When it was hot though, all you could really do was suffer. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The front door was in the living room as well. It had a screen door, and then the door itself, with a black knob and a lock above it. To the right of the door were windows, which were all obscured by blinds and curtains, to the left of the door was a bookshelf. The wall to the left of the bookshelf was the closet. Mechanica and her father put their coats, jackets, umbrellas, rain boots, winter hats, and scarves there. The bookshelf held onto much more valuable belongings. For starters, Mechanica thought to herself as she approached it, the bookshelf housed many books. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Shocking, right?/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Baby books, scrap books, text books, and even handwritten journals. It also had several pictures in small frames. One was of Mechanica with her father, taken recently, with Max Brass. Mechanica smiled as she remembered the moment that photo was taken. Her father had made a silly joke about her height, calling her his, "munchkin," as she got in the front of the three to be seen in the photo. Her father set a hand on her shoulder, and Max Brass ruffled her hair, so when the photo was taken, she felt truly happy. Two of her biggest role models were acknowledging her, and were as proud of her as could be. That meant the world to her. Another photo was from several years ago, of Mechanica smiling as she held a certificate for winning the first prize at her school's science fair. She was missing a front tooth, and her hair was in two space buns, and the invention on the table was a small robot, similar to a toy in a store, that she had made herself./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She was quite proud of it. It was a good accomplishment for a third grader. Now, though, a project like that was child's play for her. A grin grew across her face as she thought of how easily she could make one right now. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Her grin soon faded as her eyes settled on another photo. This was resided in a light blue frame, outlined in white. There was no Mechanica in this photo, but that was not what upset her. It was whatspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" was/span in the photo that caused her smile to run like a soon-to-be-victim from a murderer. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"There was her father. Fair skin, and short hair that was dark brown like Mechanica's, and had the same floof. He had a content, loving smile on his face. The background was a beach, with white sand, clear blue skies, and shiny turquoise water. Beside him was a young woman about his age. Her hair was a much lighter shade of brown, and her hand was resting on her stomach. Speaking of her stomach.../p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"... It had a baby bump. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"So, perhaps Mechanica was in this photo after all. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... Mommy..." She frowned to herself. Then, she shook her head and forced herself to turn away. Quickly, and urgently, Mechanica hurried back to her room. Her foot steps were rushed, but hushed as she rose to her tip-toes, in a desperate attempt to avoid waking up her father. She quickly opened her bedroom door, hurried in, shut the door, and inhaled a shaky breath. She never did enjoy being reminded of her mother. Even if she never really knew her, it was hard to accept that she wasn't here. With small tears bubbling in the corners of her eyes, Veronica set her glass down on her white night stand and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves, which had now fallen back to her wrists rather than being pulled up to her elbows. She took a seat on her twin-sized bed and sighed. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for something to snatch her interest and remove her focus from her deceased mother. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Her eyes fell onto the manga books sitting on her white wooden dresser, and then to the ARMS and Ribbon Girl posters hung up on her walls, before settling on the toolbox. It had a red top, a black bottom, and the handle was red and black with a grip to assist in holding it. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""That's right," Mechanica thought to herself, "I have to put that away in the garage." /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She rose back to her feet and shuffled over to the toolbox, lifting it up. She had to use both hands because, admittedly, it was just a little too heavy for her to carry by herself. A small grunt escaped from her as she picked up the toolbox, and she huffed under her breath as she strained the muscles in her arms to carry the container out of her room and back to the garage. It was significantly easier when her father was awake, and she simply asked him to bring the box to her. Now, she was on her own. When she got to the garage and pushed the door open with her foot, she gasped and cursed in her head as her arms gave out and dropped the tool box onto the floor. The floor of the garage was stone-like, clearly leading to the outside of the floor. Panicked and frightened by the dropping off the tool box and the loud sound it made when it crashed, Mechanica made a quick attempt to snatch it up. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"However, she hadn't taken into account that the toolbox was still heavier than she could handle, and more importantly, the garage had a small step that led into the main part of the house. So she would be leaning down to try to pick up something she couldn't hold, with the gracefulness and speed of a race car rushing down a race track. In an instant, she joined the toolbox on the floor. Her eyes widened and she stood back up, brushing herself off and ignoring the pain she was in from colliding with the ground beneath her. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"That smug little toolbox was still resting on the floor, unmoved. She glared at it, then looked back into the house and anxiously looked down the hallway for her father's bedroom door. She bit the nail of her right thumb as she watched with fear, worried her noise would wake up her father. Beads of sweat rolled down her face and her tears had returned. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She wasn't supposed to be up at this hour. For this, her father would likely ground her, or confiscate her belongings, or give her a stern lecture.../p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Or worse. All of the above. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She shivered and shuddered at the thought. Her heart stopped in her chest and her eyes froze as they waited for her father's door to creak open. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"... Minutes of silence pass. Nothing happens. Veronica lets out a very relieved sigh, turns back to the tool box, and grunts again as she lifts it up. Finally, Mechanica is able to successfully set it on the top of a metal file cabinet, which her father used for his many scientific reports and papers. She sighs and brushes herself off. As Mechanica turns to exit the room, her foot, still wearing a white slipper, accidentally kicks something on the floor. She pauses and looks down, simultaneously reaching down to lift the object off the floor. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"... It was a a videotape. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"As Mechanica stood back up straight, she brought the black video tape closer to her eyes to read the label on it. The darkness of the room made it quite hard to see, so she shuffled to the light on the ceiling, reached up, and pulled the chain that activated the light in the room. Then, her purple eyes fell back onto the tape's white label. The words were written in black permanent marker. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"ハネムーン/span/font."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She paused in place. Was this her father's?/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"And if so, the name of the tape implied that he would be in the video.../p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"... As would her mother. Mechanica didn't want to believe it, but it had to be about them. Why would her father keep a tape labeled, "honeymoon," about someone else? In an instant, without thinking, and allowing herself to entirely be controlled by her feelings and instincts, Mechanica approached the old television in the room. She and her father had stopped using it several years ago, but today, it was useful once more. She got onto her knees, popped the black tape into the television which was coated in a layer of dust, and sat back. She fiddled with her hands in her lap, anxious, but also excited. She didn't even know this tape existed./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Why didn't her father mention it sooner? /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Veronica wasn't given much time to contemplate this, as the tape began to play. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"-/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It's the beach again. White sand appears on the screen, and the turquoise waves of the ocean seem to sway back and forth to their own gentle rhythm. A soft breeze is lightly pushing around the leaves of tall palm trees, housing brown coconuts, and the camera seemed to move around the entire area, allowing the viewer to truly take in the environment. The sun was high in the sky and the weather was absolutely perfect. Not a single cloud plagued the blueness above the camera. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Finally, the camera stopped on a young woman. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She had light brown hair, and fair skin. She was wearing a white dress, which gently swayed along with the trees in the wind. On her head was a large, floppy, light brown hat that kept the sun out of her face. In one hand, she had a water bottle that was nearly empty, and the other hand rested on her stomach. It had the large bump that showed a baby was resting inside of it, but her condition didn't seem to plague her in the slightest. In fact, she looked beyond happy. She had a wide smile on her face as she looked over the scenery, in somewhat of a pleasant trance, and if the camera quality was just a little better, Mechanica would've been able to make out the dimples on her face that became especially profound now that she had a smile on her face. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Emily!" A man's voice calls out from behind the camera. It sounded like her father, Mechanica thought to herself. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Instantly, the woman looked over. Her smile managed to grow even more. In her eyes was genuine happiness. She was truly content. She took a few steps towards the camera, before looking at her father and chuckling softly. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Pffft... You're recording me again? You recorded the entire walk here." She happily laughed. "I look awful on camera..."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Nonsense. You look beautiful."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Even when I'm as big as a house?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Especially then. Because I get to be with you, and our little Keiko." /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The woman beamed with joy. Then, she looked down at her baby bump. "Say hi to the camera, Keiko!" The adults allowed a moment of silence to pass as the camera focused on her stomach, and then both of Mechanica's parents broke into jovial laughter. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""May I see the camera please?" Emily asked, holding her hands out for it. The man behind the camera seemed to oblige, as he passed the camera to her without hesitation or protest. She turned the camera around to focus on him, and he blushed, rubbed the back of his neck, and chuckled bashfully. He chose to show off himself being silly to the camera, pretending to play an air guitar for Emily and Keiko's entertainment, before promptly being attacked by a nearby seagull that, for whatever reason, took offense to his harmless actions. Emily laughed, before falling silent, and suddenly turning the camera onto herself. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... Hey, Keiko." She makes eye contact with the camera. Veronica scoots forward, drawn in./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... Truthfully, it's getting a little hard to be pregnant with you. Everyday I feel more drained and more sickly... I don't know if I'll really get a chance to meet you." As she said this, she frowned and looked away, her eyes daring to almost fill with tears. The tone of her voice was laced with pain and fear of not being able to see her bundle of joy./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""But... Please know that I love you. I love you very much. And if I really don't get to be with you, I want you to be nice to your father, okay? He's... He's full of energy, and admittedly a little clumsy, and on occasion, scatter-brained, but... /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"... He really does mean the best. And he really does care about us. I promise you that." Her eyes looked back at the camera. "We both do."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""So do your best, okay? For him, and for me, and most importantly: For you. We're all rooting for you, baby. I always am." She smiled sweetly, then pointed the camera back to her stomach. Her bump was rather noticeable. She had to be at least 7 months along. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Emily~!" Mechanica's father's voice chirped. Immediately, he hurried over and hugged her lovingly. They both smiled at the camera before looking up at each other, and leaning in for a kiss. Right before their bright pink lips can meet, the video ends, and the screen reverts to static./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"-/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"... Mechanica is crying silently. She stands up and runs back into the house. Tears flood from her eyes like water through a broken dam, and her hands try to wipe some away, but fail ultimately as more tears continue to fall to the floor. Her nose turned as pink as cotton candy, and gentle sobs escaped from her mouth. She swung open her father's bedroom door, letting it loudly slam against the wall. Her father yelled and woke with a start, frightened by the nose, and shot up in bed. He quickly snatched his glasses off his nightstand and turned on his lamp, which had a blue body and a white lampshade. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... Keiko? Why're you crying, sweetheart?" He began to take the comforter off to leave his bed and hurry to his daughter's side, but before he could, she rushed to him and pulled him into a tight, loving embrace. He paused, hesitantly wrapping his arms back around his father. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... What happened, Keiko? What's the matter? Bad dream?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... It's mom..." She managed to sniffle out, still crying too much to form a full sentence./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"In his striped pajamas and prescription glasses, her father looked down at her to meet her eyes. "... Your mother?" In response, Mechanica quickly and urgently nodded, making the dark brown hairs on her head shake with her. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... Sweetheart, she's-"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I saw the tape. The font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"ハネムーン /span/fonttape, when you two went to the beach."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""..." He fell silent, only holding Mechanica close. Memories of his deceased wife played through his head like music on a record player; Flawlessly and without end until Mechanica poked his cheek. "... Did you now?" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... I did... And I know I wasn't supposed to even be in the garage, and I'mspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" really/span sorry," She rambled on, crying more, "But I saw it, and I watched the entire thing, and I... I miss mommy...! I want my mommy...!" /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... I know, honey. I miss her too. Everyday." /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Mechanica curled up in his lap like a baby and allowed him to gently rock her, trying to soothe her sobs. After a few minutes, the two settle on a comfortable silence. Sobs have subsided entirely, reduced to quiet tears, and now her father's eyes had sprung leaks of their own. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""... I don't want to be alone." /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Oh, Keiko... You never are. She's always with us. And I'm always with you, too." /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Her lips quietly curled into a comforted smile. "... Can I just spend the night here? If I go back to my room, I'll just be lonely, and cry again like a baby..."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Nonsense. But, of course, you're welcome to stay here." He kissed her forehead, making her softly chuckle. Mechanica set her slippers by the bed, on the floor, and laid back. Her father laid beside her, and then tucked her in, before turning the lamp back off. The two were swallowed in darkness, but it wasn't so empty or scary anymore. Not when they knew they have a loved one nearby. He kissed her forehead one more time, before wishing her a good night and dozing off. Minutes passed, and soon, Mechanica's sleep deprivation caught up to her. She slipped into a dream. /p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p


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